George H.W. Bush salutes Collins after speech supporting Kavanaugh

Former President George H.W. Bush praised Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Friday after she delivered a roughly 45-minute speech on the Senate floor in support of Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court.

{mosads}Bush saluted Collins’s “political courage and class” after the key GOP senator told her colleagues that allegations of sexual assault levied at Kavanaugh by three women did not rise to the standard of evidence needed for her to vote against the nominee.

“.@SenatorCollins — political courage and class. I salute my wonderful friend and her principled leadership,” the former president tweeted.

.@SenatorCollins — political courage and class. I salute my wonderful friend and her principled leadership.

— George Bush (@GeorgeHWBush) October 5, 2018

Collins, one of three primary Republican senators Democrats tried to pressure to vote against Trump’s pick, announced her decision in the lengthy speech Friday shortly after Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted against ending debate on his nomination.

Moments after Collins announced her decision, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he would also support Kavanaugh. With those senators on board, Kavanaugh has enough votes to be confirmed by the Senate, with a final confirmation vote slated for Saturday.

The vote comes after weeks of controversy surrounding allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh that threw his nomination into question. Christine Blasey Ford and two other women accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct from his days in high school and college in the 1980s, claims he has forcefully denied.

The controversy brought parallels to the 1991 confirmation process for Justice Clarence Thomas, an appointee of Bush, who faced allegations of sexual harassment from Anita Hill before ultimately being confirmed to the Supreme Court.

Hill offered her own statement last month amid the allegations facing Kavanaugh, stating that the Judiciary panel should establish a better way of dealing with accusations of sexual misconduct surrounding judicial nominees.